


Haunted

by where_the_kissing_never_stops



Category: New Blood (TV)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, implied PTSD, mentions of burning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-14 17:47:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8023258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/where_the_kissing_never_stops/pseuds/where_the_kissing_never_stops
Summary: Arrash meets Gulliver, and he's not a forgiving man.





	Haunted

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this when I needed something cute between the boys. Hope you enjoy reading it!

Arrash awoke to an intense heat and an overwhelming smell of smoke.

There was fire everywhere. And he was stuck. Arrash tried to free himself from the chair he was tied to, but to no avail; his hands were bound tight behind him, and the ropes tying his torso and his legs to the rickety wooden chair weren’t budging. “Help!” He called out to anyone listening, but ended up coughing and spluttering.

The smoke billowed into the room from an external unit. The orange tint in the room made the smoke glow eerily and the room look unearthly.

A voice enters the room but there is no figure to be seen. “How do you like this, hm?” The voice was familiar, but the TDC couldn’t quite but his finger on it. “How do you like being helpless against your forthcoming death?” A shadow appeared in front of Arrash in the smoke. “How does it feel to watch your life grow shorter right before your eyes?” The figure took a step forward. “How does it feel to know you have seconds left?” As the voice spoke, a flame seemed to reach out towards Arrash, and Arrash subconsciously leaned away but couldn’t move and the straps held him tight. The man kept walking, and shouted, “How do you feel knowing you let me die?!” The man sprang towards Arrash, and stopped with his face inches from Arrash’s, revealing his identity. John Gulliver.

Arrash squeezed his eyes shut as the man leapt towards him, and when he opened his eyes, he let out a sharp and pained choke. “You- I- I’m so sorry, we didn’t mean to-”

“But it happened!” Gulliver raged and leaned closer to Arrash. “You didn’t save me like you were meant to! You let me die!” His voice boomed in Arrash’s ears. The flames lapped at their ankles, sneering and spouting smoke in Arrash’s face, leaving his eyes streaming and his lungs gasping for air.

“And here you are, just like I was, facing death head on. Now, there’s just time to see if you scream like a little child.” Gulliver turned around and started leaving the rom, and flames engulfed the space he was just in. “I wonder if anyone will come to your rescue, unlike they did with me.” He had to shout over the roar of the flames and the crackling of splintering and burning wood. “Let’s find out.”

“No!” Arrash yelled at the top of his voice as Gulliver left. The flames licked at his jeans and leaped around the floor in between his legs. As he kicked out at them, his eyes were no longer only streaming due to the smoke. Tears flowed freely as he accepted the inevitable. Flames jumped onto his jeans and the pain was unbelievable. Arrash screamed for the one person he wanted to talk to, wanted to see, wanted to jokingly insult for one last time, but to no avail. The flames reached his hand and he couldn’t take any more.

Pain consumed him.

 

* * *

 

Arrash awoke in a cold sweat, writhing and panting loudly. He blinked a few times before rubbing one hand down his face, quickly realising the other was holding onto something warm, something that wasn’t his quilt.

“Argh!” He snatched his hand back and leaned up on his elbow, eyes adjusting to the darkness as a friendly voice hushed him. “Rash, it’s me, Stefan.”

A puzzled look crossed Arrash’s face and he reached over to turn the bedside light on. There was Stefan sat next to him on the bed, looking as white as a sheet.

“You’re okay, Rash, you’re safe.” He smiled but the scared expression didn’t leave his face.

Arrash dropped his head. “What happened?” he asked in a small voice. “How come you’re here?”

“You started shouting my name, and when I came in here I saw you struggling. I-I guessed it was a bad dream, but I couldn’t leave you. So I stayed. It didn’t take you long to wake up.”

Arrash looked down and flexed the fingers of his right hand. “You held my hand.”

Stefan turned away and shrugged it off. “Yeah, well, you would’ve hit your hand on your drawer, I couldn’t let you do any damage.” He patted Arrash’s hand awkwardly. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay, so I’ll guess I’ll head off-”

“Wait.” Arrash took his hand before his friend could stand. “Thank you for looking out for me.” They exchanged a smile. Arrash looked at the clock. It was 4:12am. He realised he was still holding Stefan’s hand and quickly let go. ”Stef?”

“Yeah?”

“Er, can you stay for a while?”

Stefan swallowed. “Sure.” He sat back down, glad he’d grabbed his dressing gown before coming through to Arrash’s room.

Arrash sat up properly, turning on his bedside lamp and grabbing his quilt and pulling it up as far as he could.

“I was in… I think it was Gulliver’s shop, but there was fire and so much smoke, and I was tied up and I couldn’t move, then Gulliver came through and blamed me for his death, refused to let me out and made me suffer like he did. I let him die, Stefan, I let him-”

“Rash, listen to me,” Stefan ordered. Arrash took a few breaths to compose himself, and listened to what his friend had to say. “You did not let him die. We met the bastard who killed him, he almost killed the two of us as well. If we had barged in there and ordered him to free Gulliver, odds are he would’ve shot all three of us there and then.”

“But I didn’t even try, Stefan. I didn’t even try to save him.” The tone in Arrash’s voice was no longer one of sadness, it was one of disappointment and disbelief. “I couldn’t handle my drink and couldn’t even follow a simple instruction of ‘do not fall asleep’.” Tears started glistening in Arrash’s eyes and the light from the lamp highlighted them. He blinked and his expression changed to one of horror. “I got him killed. It’s my fault, it’s all my fucking fault.”

Stefan heard Arrash’s voice break watched his friend crumple and couldn’t take it anymore. He reached out and took him in his arms, gently hushing him as Arrash cried and his breath hitched and he grabbed onto Stefan’s dressing gown as tightly as he could, as if that was anchoring him to a safe, cosy place.

It was a good few minutes before Arrash calmed down enough for his breathing to return to normal and he pulled back, wiping his eyes.

Stefan didn’t really know what to do, so he held Arrash at arms-length and said softly to him, “You good?” He got a small nod in reply.

“Thanks, Stefan. Sorry.”

“Rash, you’ve been through the wars over the past few months, both mentally and physically. You are allowed a moment or two to let it out.” He looked at Arrash and squeezed his hand. “And as it’s…” He glanced over at the clock. “…getting on for 5 in the morning, I think we both need to get back to sleep.”

Arrash looked sideways at the clock, then dipped his head. “Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Stop apologising,” Stefan said quietly, “I’m here, you know that.” He got to his feet and headed towards the door as Arrash watched him. “If you need anything-”

“I know,” Arrash replied with a slight but meaningful smile. “Thank you.” He leaned over and turned the lamp off.

The blonde nodded. “Night, Rash.”

“Night, Stef.”


End file.
